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Along the way

Along the way

Queen of Tarts: sweet temptation in Dublin

Although at first glance Dublin is not really noted for the diversity of its baked products, an immense number of creative concepts are currently scoring points in the Irish capital. With its small pastry shops, bakeries and cafés, Dublin is in no sense trailing behind the trendy metropolises. Perhaps that’s also just due to movers and shakers like the two sisters Regina and Yvonne Fallon from the “Queen of Tarts” pastry shop, who returned to Ireland after learning their craft in New York in the nineteen-nineties. Read more

Along the way

Being Different

The Salzbäcker GmbH in Rullstorf near Lüneburg has invested in a new wood-fired baking oven. Managing Director Thomas Wiechel aims to use this plant and his concept to set himself apart from competitors. Read more

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A renegade in the South Seas

Bread crates, or rather transport crates for baked products, are much in demand. So much in demand (as stolen goods) that industry experts estimate the so-called “shrinkage” at around 3% per year. This box went off course into an especially beautiful and particularly remote region. Where was it found? In the ranger’s cabin of the “Jellyfish Lake” in Palau. Its real owner is the GWF company (George Weston) in Australia, also known there as Tip Top Bakeries. Read more

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Streetfood and food trucks

It can safely be said that streetfood is a global trend and part of the townscape even outside of the big cities. The origins of streetfood probably lie in the cookshops of Asia, although as a general rule streetfood in the developed countries is not cheap. Food trucks are the mobile form of streetfood and are widespread, because production in front of customers needs a certain amount of equipment and raw materials. That’s why this kind of fast food has little resemblance to conventional chip and kebab stalls. The decisive factor for the small meals that are usually offered at markets or so-called streetfood festivals is the quality and freshness of the ingredients and their preparation, which reaches gourmet quality in some places. The range of foods on offer is wide. Read more

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Europain 2016 – ran out of steam

Paris is always worth a visit, but anyone who combined a trip to the French capital with an excursion to Europain would have been well advised not to expect a bakery technology trade fair. The range of technical solutions on offer for chain store operators and industrial bakeries was concentrated at the back of Hall 4, where the hall space was considerably decreased by extensive downsizing. Most of the well over 30 companies exhibiting there had drastically reduced their stand areas, for example Mecatherm by two thirds to only 250 square meters. Scarcely any of them showed any great desire to be there again next time. Read more

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An excursion into Uzbek bakery technology

Uzbekistan is one of five former Central Asian soviet republics, and after gaining its independence in 1991 it is an economically ambitious nation whose efforts to make progress are supported by the Federal Republic of Germany. In this respect the focus is on assistance for medium-sized artisan businesses.
In the context of an assignment for the Senior Experts Service, Bonn, at a long-life baked products manufacturer in Namangan/Uzbekistan, SES Expert Hauch had an opportunity to visit a factory producing typical Uzbek breads. Namangan is situated in the northern part of the Fergana Valley, and with its present-day population of approx. 500,000 it is one of Uzbekistan’s biggest cities. In addition to growing cotton (Uzbekistan’s principal export commodity), light industry and food industry are important economic mainstays of this region.
Bread plays a special role in the Uzbek diet. It is an inexpensive food available almost everywhere in the country, and is served at nearly all mealtimes. The method of manufacture and appearance of the breads differ markedly from baked products manufactured in Central Europe. A medium-firm dough is prepared by hand from wheat flour corresponding roughly to Type 550, together with dried yeast, salt, water and a small amount of fat. After a short proofing, the dough is made up and the dough pieces round-molded.

The author:
Hans-Herbert Dörfner works on a voluntary basis, in this country and abroad, as an Expert for the Senior Experts Service in the Foundation of German Industry for International Cooperation, Bonn/Germany. You can also find out more about the SES and the author in our article in baking+biscuit international, Issue 1/2016, from Page 40 onwards.

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Joseph for the third time but needing development

Obkirchergasse 37 – 39 in the Austrian capital’s 19th district is home to the third location of “Joseph, Brot vom Pheinsten” (Joseph, the finest bread). Josef Weghaupt, who likes to present himself as the Enfant Terrible of the Viennese bakery sector, has again chosen one of the “better” quarters of the Danube metropolis for his performance. His first baker’s shop under the name “Joseph, Brot vom Pheinsten” in Naglergasse in the city center was followed in late 2013 by a bistro with a bakery and patisserie on Landstrasser Hauptstrasse in the 3rd district. So now we see the third shop in Obkirchergasse, although at the lower end where strolling latte macchiato mums are rather rare. Read more

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Customer service or a waste of water?

It’s hot in Romans sur Isère, a small town in south-east France, surrounded by fields of vegetables and fruit. Nevertheless, people are sitting in the roadside cafés in the late afternoon, enjoying their espresso or already drinking the first aperitif. The Le Royal bar-brasserie has a way of refreshing its guests that is also seen in many other southern countries. A system of water hoses extends over the whole terrace, with fine nozzles from which a fine water mist sprays at minute intervals. The only snag is that the guests gain very little benefit from it today, because the wind immediately blows the water onto the street and the cooling effect is lost. The intention was certainly laudable, even if not exactly ecologically correct.

Along the way

Paradise on Earth

Many of us know the classical cool, rather dark market halls in southern European towns. Depending on the location, they provide a gigantic or only a regional assortment of raw materials for the home kitchen, usually combined with small gastronomic offerings at the various stands. There is a modern variant of such market halls in Rotterdam (the Netherlands) called simply Markthal (Market Hall). Its “content”: a few offices and a housing complex (228 apartments) with a market hall as its core and a car park underneath. Read more